Minnesota Vikings WR Jerome Simpson Released After Arrest for Suspicion of DWI

Minnesota Vikings Wide Receiver Jerome Louis Simpson, 27, was arrested on suspicion of DWI in Minneapolis Saturday morning. He was released on $12,000 bond.

A Minnesota State Trooper responded to a stalled vehicle on the side of westbound I-394 leaving downtown Minneapolis around 4 a.m.

Simpson got out of the vehicle and the trooper said he showed signs of intoxication, that included watery eyes and slurred speech.

Simpson told the trooper he was coming from the Pour House and denied he was drinking. The trooper had Simpson perform field sobriety tests and then arrested him for DWI.

Simpson was taken to the Hennepin County Jail. At the jail Simpson refused to take a breath test, according to the state patrol. Simpson was booked for DWI/Test Refusal at 5:39 a.m.

He was released at 12:52 p.m., about seven hours after he was arrested overnight

The Vikings beat Washington on Thursday, so players have the weekend off. The Vikings issued a statement acknowledging their awareness of the situation.

"We are continuing to gather information and will have further comment at the appropriate time," the statement said.

Simpson is on his second one-year contract with the team after playing his first three NFL seasons in Cincinnati. There, he spent 15 days in jail for a felony drug conviction tied to a 2½-pound marijuana shipment to his home in Kentucky, where authorities said they found another pound of the drug inside the house in September 2011. His sentence included three years of probation.

The NFL suspended him for three games last year for violating the league's substance abuse policy. League spokesman Randall Liu said Saturday that Simpson's case will be reviewed.

Simpson leads the Vikings with 491 yards receiving this season, but the 27-year-old has yet to score a touchdown in 21 regular-season games with the team. His productivity this year is the primary reason coaches have cited for their minimal use of first-round draft pick Cordarrelle Patterson.

Patterson, who had his first career scoring reception in the 34-27 victory over the Redskins on Thursday, plays the same split end spot as Simpson.